Mac OS X skilled at juggling network connections

Q. On one of my iMacs (running OS X), I keep getting a message saying "Internet Connect: No dial tone detected. Please check phone line and try again."

— Raj Shafaii

A. Mac OS X can handle several different network connections at the same time. You can have a dial-up phone connection ready to connect while still connected via wireless AirPort or wired Ethernet (or both of those and even more).

After checking with you and finding out your Ethernet connection wasn't working, the problem turned out to be Mac OS X outsmarting itself. OS X tries other network connections in your Network system preference to reach the Internet if the LAN (local area network) connection fails.

The solution is to bring up the System Preferences, click the Network preference, select Active Network Ports from just below the Location pop-up menu, and uncheck the Internal Modem configuration. Click Apply Now.

Q. If I write to a CD-R and only partially fill it, can I write to it later to fill the unused space? Not erasing, which I realize cannot be done, but only adding until full.

— Alan Grundman

A. Absolutely, but it depends on how the recordable CD is set up. Using Apple's built-in Mac OS 9 and X software to burn a CD-R, you can't choose to later write more to that disc. You need Roxio Toast for that purpose.

Toast can write a multisession disc. Each session is written as if it's a complete CD, but you can add new sessions, which show up as individual discs in the Finder, until the disc is filled.

Virtually all CD-ROM players and operating systems read multi-session discs. Each session eats up some overhead for tracking files. You might be able to write more than 650 megabytes in one pass on a CD-ROM but only fit in 400 Mb if you wrote it in 10 sessions.

Roxio Toast Titanium 5 works with both OS 9 and X (www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml). To write a multisession disc, select the option to write a session instead of the whole disc.

Q. I have a G4 Macintosh with OS X networked with a Hewlett-Packard machine running Windows 2000. I can connect via the "Connect to Server" window and transfer files. However, I would like to share an inkjet printer with my Mac. Is this possible?

— Jeffrey Haugen

A. Windows printer sharing works somewhat differently from how Macs share printers. It's possible the upcoming revision to OS X, code-named Jaguar, will support Windows-style printing as well as make it easier to connect to Windows-shared volumes, which, as you note, already can be done. But information on Jaguar is scanty so far.

Mac OS 8.1-9.2 users can purchase Connectix DoubleTalk (www.connectix.com/products/dt.html, $100) or Thursby Software's DAVE (www.thursby.com/products/dave.html, $150) to print to Windows printers and access Windows-shared volumes. At those prices, though, you can buy a new USB color printer.

Carbon copying: Readers write in regularly asking how to duplicate an existing hard drive's exact contents to install a new replacement drive on their machine. Under Mac OS 9 and earlier, this was typically a simple problem: make a backup using Retrospect Remote (www.dantz.com), or just by copying it to another drive; install the new drive; copy files back in the Finder or restore via Retrospect; reboot.

In Mac OS X, the Unix underpinnings made the task much more difficult. Fortunately, Mac users have come to the rescue. A few colleagues have let me know Carbon Copy Cloner works as advertised (www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html). It's donationware, meaning that it works without a serial number, but the author hopes for a small contribution if you find it useful.

Bigger, cheaper drives: If you're thinking about upgrading your system by adding a larger hard drive, prices are once again (as happens regularly) at an all-time low. Most modern Macintoshes can use any standard 3 1/2-inch IDE/EIDE drive. (The size refers to the drive mechanism inside, not the drive's overall dimension.)

These drives have a standard connection for power and the system bus cable, as well as screw mount holes in the sides and, except for the first series of iMacs, are relatively easy to swap in and out.

Many of the original drives found in Apple's computers are from a few gigabytes (usually around 6 gigabytes in the later model) up to 80 GB. These drives almost always spin at 5400 rpm (revolutions per minute); 7200 rpm drives deliver superior performance but used to cost substantially more.

For about $120, you can purchase an 80 GB 7200 rpm drive from several companies; $200 buys a 120 Gb IBM DeskStar.

I recommend APS Technologies (www.apstech.com) in Oregon, which specializes in Mac hardware; and Provantage.com. Both companies have delivered time and again with prices, follow-through, and support.

Glenn Fleishman writes the Practical Mac column for Personal Technology and about technology in general for The Seattle Times and other publications. Send questions to gfleishman@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.